Authors: Catherine Johnson
He looked around the room as the locusts descended on the food laid out along the bar. Josh was tucked into the corner of a sofa with a plate and a glass of juice. Most of the girls were sat around chatting and waiting for the men to eat first. Lucy and Britney didn’t appear to have moved from the sofa they’d claimed when they’d first entered the room. Dizzy didn’t see Thea, until she came out of the kitchen with another plate stacked high with toast.
He opted to hang back until everyone else had loaded their plates. They’d have made way for him if he’d have made his presence felt, but he preferred to just observe for a while. He got a fresh mug of coffee from Nut and settled himself at a table near the Chapel doors. It gave him a sense of satisfaction to see everyone, or at least the majority of people, pulling together as a club family. His brothers were arguing good-naturedly over the food, with some small amount of pushing and shoving. Dizzy couldn’t see Annelle; he suspected that she was still directing operations from her command center in the kitchen.
Thea had disappeared back there after placing the small mountain of toast on the bar. Dizzy was trying not to watch the doorway to the kitchen when she re-emerged, carrying a plate full of food in one hand and cutlery in the other. Wondering what she was up to, he kept watching her. He fought the urge to sit up a little straighter as she made her way directly to him.
“Here you go.” She set the plate and the cutlery down on the table in front of him. “Can’t have you startin’ the day on an empty stomach.”
He was about to ask her to stay when she pulled out one of the other chairs and sat down. She glanced over one shoulder at Josh, probably checking that he was okay and that he was still where she’d left him. Satisfied, she turned back.
“I thought I’d wait ‘til the vultures were done.” He explained.
“Bad idea. I think there’s maybe a few crumbs left, but that’s about it.”
“What about you?” Dizzy pulled the plate towards him and picked up the cutlery.
“Me?” She relaxed back in her chair. “I’ve already eaten.”
“You have?” That surprised him. He hadn’t seen any of the girls eating. He’d assumed they were waiting on the men.
“What? You thought we were waitin’ on you boys to come out and shake your manes and eat what we’d cooked before we dared to partake.” She was grinning, almost outright laughing. “Fuck that. We took care of ours while we were cookin’ yours.”
Dizzy decided discretion was the better part of valor on this point. He wasn’t about to admit that she’d hit the nail pretty much on the head. Instead he tucked into the pile of bacon, eggs and toast that she’d brought over. He liked seeing her carefree, and there was a lot to like about seeing the rest of her this morning too.
He couldn’t see her legs right at that minute, since she was seated, but the dark jeans she was wearing were tight enough to make him wonder how hard they were to take off. The edges of the red lace bra she was wearing were peeking out over the neckline of her grey beater. He had to concentrate harder than usual on making sure food got on his fork and stayed on it until it was in his mouth because, Goddamn, that red against her pale skin was distracting. Her hair was tied back again, more securely than he’d ever seen it before, but the end of the ponytail brushed her shoulders when she turned or cocked her head. Dizzy shifted in his seat, he could think of a lot of things he’d rather be doing at that moment in time, but she was right, he needed fuel.
Thea remained for a few moments, and he thought that maybe she was about to say something, but it seemed she decided against it. She stood, and tucked the chair neatly back under the table. “I’ll leave you to it.”
And then she was walking away. He would’ve asked her to stay except that he had a mouthful of food. The breakfast was basic, but it was good, tasty, and Dizzy wondered who’d had a hand in cooking it. For a long while, the sounds in the clubhouse were muted. There was some conversation, but much of it was stilted, fitting in around the eating.
Once he’d finished his food, Dizzy carried his plate to the kitchen. He paused, just out of sight of the door, to catch the snatch of conversation.
“I say Lucy and Britney get dishes duty. And Reba if she’s fuckin’ come out of that coma yet.” That was Thea.
“You gonna tell ‘em that?” Asked a quieter voice.
“Sure. I don’t mind haulin’ their asses in here to pull their weight. It ain’t camp.” That was Thea again. Dizzy had a smile on his face that matched the laughter that he knew was Annelle’s as he walked into the room. He found five women: Thea, Annelle, Myla, Lyla and Alex, all leaning back against the counter top, holding steaming mugs as they chatted. They fell quiet as he walked in.
“Don’t mind me, girls.” He left his plate on the counter with the other dishes that were waiting to be washed. “Annelle, you got a minute?”
“Sure.” She pushed away from the counter and put her mug down.
“No, no. It ain’t private. The gang from Louisiana are on their way down. They should get here sometime this afternoon. We’re gonna need somethin’ for people to sleep on and more food. We’re gonna need some other kit as well. Bandages, pain relief, other shit like that, just in case.”
“It’s gonna get rough, huh?” Annelle didn’t look at all surprised.
“We protect our own, darlin’. We do what needs doin’.”
Annelle nodded. “Okay. How many bodies?”
“I think we’re gonna have another seven. Some of our guys will be makin’ way for the Pres and his veep to have a bed, so assume another two for whoever was sharin’ last night.”
“Will do. I’ll get us set up.”
“You’ll need an extra pair of hands, but you don’t leave without an escort. Just let one of the guys know when you’re ready to go. They’ll be expectin’ you.”
“Okay. I’ll get on it when we’re done clearin’ all this up.” Annelle fluttered her fingers in the direction of the plates, dishes, pans and cutlery that were littering the white Formica worktop.
“Great, I’ll leave you to it. Oh, and girls? Thank you. This ain’t unappreciated.”
Dizzy left the kitchen, intending to go straight to the Chapel. There were some things about their plan that he needed to get straight in his own mind before Samuel and the rest arrived. But then he realized that, with Josh beating Scooby at some game, with Shaggy acting as chief cheerleader, that he had the perfect opportunity to grab a shower, an opportunity he might not have again for some time.
He was almost through the door to his dorm room when he heard steps hurrying down the corridor behind him. A multitude of dirty thoughts crossed his mind when he saw Thea catching up to him.
“Hey, Dizzy. Can I have a word?”
“Sure, sweetheart.” He pushed the door to the room further open and motioned her inside. She complied, but he was sure he hadn’t missed the slight hesitation before she’d done so.
“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” He asked after he’d entered, flicked the light switch and closed the door behind him. He could have laughed. Thea was almost shuffling her feet. She hadn’t been afraid to stand up to him yet since she’d first arrived at the clubhouse the day before, and here she was, looking almost shy. Dizzy was intrigued, and more than a little turned on. That red lace was still showing.
Finally she huffed out a breath and just started talking. “Look, I’m not tryin’ to be ungrateful here. You’ve taken me and my boy in to keep us safe. I guess...I’m just tryin’ to ask... how long do you think we’ll be stayin’ here?”
“I honestly don’t know. We’ve still got some things to arrange. I guess we should know by tomorrow afternoon how all this is gettin’ tied up, one way or another.”
Now she was regarding him seriously. “How will you know if it’s safe for us to go?”
“I’ll know.”
“What do you… ?” She almost sounded exasperated, but then she shook her head so hard her ponytail flew. “Forget it. I don’t need to know. I don’t want to know, I don’t think. It feels like we’re talkin’ in riddles half the time, but I don’t need to know who is comin’ after me and my boy, not if you stop ‘em.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“There’s a chance you might not... that you might get hurt, though, right?”
“Yes. There is. But we’re goin’ to make sure the guys that threatened you, us, don’t ever do somethin’ like this again.”
He hadn’t realized that he’d been stalking her across the room as they’d been speaking until she let out a shocked gasp when she hit the wall by the desk. That fucking red lace was calling to him. He put his arm out, palm flat against the wall by her head. He wasn’t blocking her escape, though, in any way. If she wanted to, all she had to do was slide along the wall and walk to the door. He was fairly certain that if she made a move to do so, that he’d let her go, but he wanted to touch her first. She hadn’t moved yet. He couldn’t decipher her expression, and he didn’t care to try. He concentrated on what he’d been wanting to do since he’d first seen that red lace.
He laid his free hand on her shoulder, and let it sit there for a beat to see if she’d shake it off, but she didn’t. He’d been able to see more of her ink now that he’d seen her in something other than that godawful shirt she wore in the store. He knew now that the roses only covered her upper arm, but there was something else on her back, and it seemed to be a sizable piece.
His palm was now covering the rose inked over her shoulder. The leaves and stems were shaded in black and grey, only the blooms themselves had color; they were deep red, the color of fresh blood. There were two large flowers, one over the curve of her shoulder and one on her bicep. He smoothed his palms down over that art until he could brush his thumb over the tender skin at the crook of her elbow. She shivered a little, gooseflesh raised on her skin, but she did not flinch. He watched his hand as he moved it back up her arm until it rested flat over her collar bone.
He flexed his hand slightly, only enough to push his fingers under the strap of the beater and that tantalizing red bra beneath it. Then he repeated the path he’d already mapped over her arm, but this time he took the straps with him. As his hand reached Thea’s elbow, the layers of material peeled back until one breast was almost fully revealed, the material just catching over the nipple.
He tore his eyes away from that beautiful sight so that he could look in her eyes. Her expression was far more revealing now. She wasn’t going to run away, but he could see curiosity there. She was wondering what he’d do next. He was wondering when, or if, she’d stop him. He held her gaze as he stroked down, over her breast, until his hand cradled that firm, pale orb, prizing it fully from the confines of her clothing. He’d felt something, against his palm. He glanced down to be sure, and yes, there was a barbell through her nipple, two little steel balls sitting innocuously on either side of it. He ran his thumb over and around the dusky pink peak framed by the hard steel. He looked back up when he heard not so much a gasp as a wordless exhale. That sound made his balls tighten in the best way.
Thea’s eyes, almost hidden behind her too-long bangs, were hooded, her lips parted, and as he kept up the movement of his thumb, she arched away from the wall, pressing her breast deeper into his palm. He leant forward, his mouth hovering over hers, before he completed the kiss, or began it. His mind was spinning as her tongue stroked his. He kissed her harder; he’d missed the way that she tasted.
Needing to be closer, Dizzy wedged one thigh in between Thea’s legs so that he could press his body against hers, press her against the wall. Her hips flexed against him and he could feel the heat of her core even through two layers of denim.
He wanted her naked, soon. Sure it was irresponsible, there were some important matters he needed to be giving his attention to, but with Thea moaning into his mouth, her hands running around his hips until she could grab fistfuls of his shirt, he couldn’t quite give anything beyond this room its proper priority. Her hips were still rocking and he couldn’t help answering the motion, the delicious friction torturing his cock, which was painfully hard and constrained in his jeans.
He tore his mouth away from hers. He wanted to run his lips over her neck while he freed her other breast. Three sharp raps at the door sledgehammered their way into his consciousness. It took Dizzy a moment to compute. In those mixed up seconds Thea tried to squirm out and away, but he held her fast with his palm and his leg. He pressed his body still closer to keep her where she was.